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Talk:Tribble
Tribble Genetics -From the site: McCoy refers to the tribbles as "bisexual" which is incorrect. They are in fact reproducing asexually. Is this from canon? If they are asexual, they should reproduce by mitosis and all tribbles should be the same color. If color were environmentally caused, you'd expect all of the tribbles that were found in the grain stores to be the same color, from eating the same food. I think McCoy is right, that they are bisexual. I suggest the comment be removed. -- 02:18, 25 May 2007 (UTC) :Well, I don't know if it's technically canon or not, but I believe in David Gerrold's book on writing the episode, he himself mentions that bisexual is incorrect, and that it (probably? been awhile since I've read it) should've been asexual. (Whether asexual is correct or not, is certainly open to debate, although I don't know that "asexual" necessarily = "reproduces by mitosis" anyway.) --umrguy42 02:48, 25 May 2007 (UTC) ::Asexual could also refer to parthenogenic reproduction, which is the internal development of offspring without the need for mating. McCoy's quote is that, as far as he can tell, "they're born pregnant." Sounds like parthenogenesis to me. Of course, in parthenogenesis, the individual produced is genetically identical to its parent. This is not necessarily a problem, as for all we know tribbles are genetically identical, they just express the genes randomly based on other factors. Another possibility is that they have a high mutation rate, which would come in handy to maintain genetic diverstity in a population that doesn't mate.Wolff359 04:05, 25 May 2007 (UTC) I got to go with McCoy on this one. First, he IS the Chief Medical Officer; I doubt that he would say "bisexual" when he meant "asexual." His quote about them being "born pregnant" sounds more like McCoy's wry sense of humor -- a bit of hyperbole surrounding how fast they reproduce -- than a statement of fact. "Bisexual" (present day PC attitudes aside) essentially means one is "hermaphroditic" (see http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bisexual). For example, there are many bisexual plants on Earth that are capable of "self-pollination" as well as "cross-pollination" -- both of these types of reproduction are "sexual" not "asexual." As for being "born pregnant," even were that a serious comment, it would only require that the sex organs be functional, and self-fertilization be possible, prior to birth. Nowhere is there discussion of "spores" or "fission" or "budding" or any other method of "asexual" reproduction. (Note: "mitosis" as mentioned above is generally used in reference to "cell division"; "fission" would be the proper term to use on a multi-cellular level. Technically, "fission" is reproduction by spontaneous division of the body into two or more parts each of which grows into a complete organism. (Note: From a practical perspective, bodily division doesn't necessarily have to be "spontaneous" -- which is why shell fishermen no longer hack up starfish and toss them back into the ocean ;-) In a couple of camera shots we see two tribbles sort of "joined" together and it is not clear if we are seeing some sort of mating or there is a "fission" process going on. Based on what we can adduce in the episode, '60 censors aside, I have to go with "mating" and agree with the fellow at the top of this page; the comment should go ;-) FWIW: Sesquipedalian101 2008.03.22.21.30 (PDT) 66.45.178.73 04:30, 23 March 2008 (UTC)